Virtual server running a game server, no one outside my network can connect?

Question

I have port forwarded to the virtual machine the correct ports and the firewall is disabled, temporarily, and no one outside my home network can connect.

Answer 1

From another computer on your LAN can you connect to your game server. You have not said what operating systems you are running for guest or host OS or what virtual machine you are using.



For example the default network connection for a guest OS on virtualbox would be "NAT" where the guest OS IP would be a different IP not even on your main LAN disguised as the host machine's IP. In that case you would not even be able to access the guest OS IP from your LAN, much less from the Internet. In the virtualbox Network settings you would need to change Network from "NAT" to "Bridged Adapter". Then if your router does DHCP the guest OS should be able to get an automatic IP on your actual LAN. It would be a different IP than the host OS is using. Although, if you know how to properly set a static LAN IP, netmask, gateway (router LAN IP), and nameserver (usually also router LAN IP), port forwarding would be easier because the IP of the virtual server would not change.



Once you are able to connect to the actual game on your server from another computer on your LAN, go to www.canyouseeme.org and see if that shows whatever port(s) the game uses as open to check the port forwarding.

Answer 2

If local LAN users can connect to the game server, then it should be set up ok. What is failing is the port forwarding on the router. Either improper LAN IP address (servers should be at a static IP address on the LAN), improper forwarding, wrong port, or the ISP is blocking that port incoming (not too likely, but possible). Adding a virtual server complicates it a bit, because you have to do the proper NAT between the virtual machine, and your host PC IP. Check what IP you ar forwarding to on the router, the host PC, or does the virtual machine have a different IP ??

Answer 3

Have you run a server at home before successfully? (I only ask because most ISP's do not allow servers to be run on residential accounts and they will actively block any incoming connections that were not initiated from inside the network). That would be my first guess.



After that, without knowing your EXACT network topology, really can't help you much. Could be a hundred different things that you did wrong, or didn't do at all.